Modular supercharger system

ABSTRACT

There is provided a supercharger system for supercharging a vehicle engine includes a first lower intake manifold adapter attached to the vehicle engine. The supercharger system further includes a second lower intake manifold adapter attached to the vehicle engine. The first and second lower intake manifold adapters can be attached to respective first and second cylinder heads of the vehicle engine. The supercharger system further includes a plate situated between the first and the second lower intake manifold adapter, where the plate is adapted to receive a supercharger on a bottom surface of the plate. The supercharger provides compressed air that flows through the first and the second lower intake manifold adapter to the vehicle engine. The supercharger system further includes an upper manifold plenum chamber situated over the plate, where the upper manifold plenum chamber receives the compressed air from the supercharger.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/036,545, titled “Controller Module for Modular Supercharger System,”filed concurrently with the present application, is incorporated byreference in its entirety and made part of the present application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to internal combustion engines.More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus forsupercharging internal combustion engines.

2. Related Art

Superchargers have become popular in recent years as an addition tointernal combustion engines as a result of cost efficiency, reliability,and performance. A supercharger is basically a compressor that creates“boost” by forcing more air into the cylinders of the engine than wouldnaturally be drawn in during the engine's intake stroke. By way ofbackground, “boost,” which is typically measured in psi (pounds persquare inch), refers to the additional amount of air pressure that isforced into the air intake of the engine to overcome the vacuum forcethat is naturally created by the engine's air intake. By creating boost,the supercharger forces a denser fuel/air charge into the engine'scombustion chamber, which creates more horsepower.

In a conventional supercharger system, the supercharger is typicallydriven by the crankshaft of the engine via a belt and is oftenside-mounted on the engine. In such system, compressed air that exitsthe side-mounted supercharger is coupled to the engine's intake manifoldby ducting. However, the ducting associated with the side-mountedsupercharger can act as a megaphone that can amplify sound generated bythe supercharger to an undesirably high level.

Also, many existing vehicle models have confined engine compartmentswith low vehicle hood clearance, which provides very little space tomount additional components, such as superchargers. As a result,conventional supercharger systems, which employ side-mountedsuperchargers, cannot be installed in many vehicle models. Additionally,the low vehicle hood clearance in many current vehicle models preventssuperchargers in conventional supercharger systems from being mounted ontop of the engine without having to modify the vehicle hood.Furthermore, a supercharger discharges compressed air at a hightemperature, which can reduce fuel efficiency of the vehicle engine.However, the confined engine compartments of many existing vehiclesmodels severely limits the space available for cooling devices that maybe employed to reduce the temperature of compressed that exits thesupercharger.

Thus, there is an intense need for supercharger systems that canovercome the disadvantages of the conventional supercharger systems, andthat can increase performance, reduce emissions, decrease fuelconsumption, reduce sound and decrease the temperature of compressed airthat exits the supercharger system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to modular supercharger system. Morespecifically, the invention provides a supercharger system forsupercharging a vehicle engine, which can increase performance, reduceemissions, decrease fuel consumption, reduce sound and decrease thetemperature of compressed air that exits the supercharger system.

In one aspect, a supercharger system for supercharging a vehicle engineincludes a first lower intake manifold adapter attached to the vehicleengine. The supercharger system further includes a second lower intakemanifold adapter attached to the vehicle engine. The first lower intakemanifold adapter can be attached to a first cylinder head of the vehicleengine and the second lower intake manifold adapter can be attached to asecond cylinder head of the vehicle engine. The supercharger systemfurther includes a mounting plate situated between the first and thesecond lower intake manifold adapter, where the plate is adapted toreceive a supercharger on a bottom surface of the plate.

In the supercharger system, the supercharger provides compressed airthat flows through the first and the second lower intake manifoldadapter to the vehicle engine. The supercharger system further includesan upper manifold plenum chamber situated over the plate, where theupper manifold plenum chamber receives the compressed air from thesupercharger. The plate has an opening to allow the compressed air toflow from the supercharger into the upper manifold plenum chamber. Thefirst lower intake manifold adapter has a number of passageways forreceiving the compressed air from the upper manifold plenum chamber.

These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparentwith further reference to the drawings and specification, which follow.It is intended that all such additional systems, features and advantagesbe included within this description, be within the scope of the presentinvention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the present invention will become morereadily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewingthe following detailed description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a diagram of a modular supercharger system accordingto one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2A illustrates a perspective view of a lower intake manifoldadapter according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2B illustrates a top view of a portion of the lower intake manifoldadapter of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an upper manifold plenumchamber according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of a supercharger mounting plateaccording to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a bottom view of an upper manifold plenum chamber andan internal heat exchanger according to one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a diagram of an air flow distribution manifoldaccording to one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 7 illustrates a diagram of a modular supercharger system accordingto one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to modular supercharger system. Thepresent invention may be described herein in terms of functional blockcomponents and various processing steps. It should be appreciated thatsuch functional blocks may be realized by any number of hardware orsoftware components configured to perform the specified functions. Itshould be further appreciated that the particular implementations shownand described herein are merely examples and are not intended to limitthe scope of the present invention in any way.

FIG. 1 shows a diagram of modular supercharger system 100 according toone embodiment of the present invention. Modular supercharger system 100can be connected to an internal combustion vehicle engine (not shown inFIG. 1), such as a gasoline or diesel vehicle engine, to superchargesuch vehicle engine. In one embodiment, modular supercharger system 100may be connected to a vehicle engine having four or more cylinders.Modular supercharger system 100 uses a modular design includingsupercharger 102, lower intake manifold adapters 112 and 114, mountingplate 108, upper manifold plenum chamber 122, and an effective coolingsystem to increase performance, reduce emissions, and decrease fuelconsumption of the vehicle engine. Supercharger system 100 also utilizesa cooling system component (i.e. internal heat exchanger 104) to reducethe level of sound that is generated by the supercharger.

Modular supercharger system 100 includes supercharger 102 for providingcompressed air to cylinder intake valves (not shown in FIG. 1) of thevehicle engine. Supercharger 102 can be a “Roots” rotating elementsupercharger, a screw rotating element supercharger, a centrifugalcompressor, a rotary helical element compressor, or an air pump. Modularsupercharger system 100 also includes lower intake manifold assembly106, which replaces the intake manifold (not shown in FIG. 1) of thevehicle engine during installation of modular supercharger system 100.Lower intake manifold assembly 106 can be attached to the vehicle enginecylinder heads (not shown in FIG. 1) after the intake manifold of thevehicle engine has been removed. Lower intake manifold assembly 106includes mounting plate 108 for attaching supercharger 102 to lowerintake manifold assembly 106. For example, supercharger 102 can bemounted over the vehicle engine on a bottom surface of mounting plate108 such that compressed air exits supercharger 102 through opening 110in mounting plate 108. Mounting plate 108 may comprise machinedaluminum. In other embodiments, mounting plate 108 may comprise castaluminum, cast iron, steel, or composite materials.

Lower intake manifold assembly 106 also includes lower intake manifoldadapters 112 and 114 for supporting mounting plate 108 and uppermanifold plenum chamber 122 and for providing supercharged compressedair to cylinder intake valves (not shown in FIG. 1) of the vehicleengine via core passageways 116. Lower intake manifold adapter 112 canbe attached to one vehicle engine cylinder head (not shown in FIG. 1)and lower intake manifold adapter 114 can be attached to a secondvehicle engine cylinder head. Mounting plate 108 can be attached tolower intake manifold adapters 112 and 114 to allow supercharger 102 tobe situated between lower intake manifold adapters 112 and 114 in anupdraft configuration. In the updraft configuration, compressed air isdischarged from supercharger 102 in an upward direction (i.e. in adirection away from the vehicle engine). It is noted that although onlya portion of lower intake manifold adapter 114 is shown in FIG. 1, lowerintake manifold adapter 114 is substantially a mirror image of lowerintake manifold adapter 112.

Lower intake manifold adapters 112 and 114 may comprise machinedaluminum. In other embodiments, lower intake manifold adapters 112 and114 may comprise cast aluminum, cast iron, steel, or compositematerials. Lower intake manifold adapters 112 and 114 each include corepassageways 116 for providing compressed air to respective cylinderintake valves of the vehicle engine. For example, lower intake manifoldadapters 112 and 114 can each include four core passageways 116. In oneembodiment, lower intake manifold adapters 112 and 114 may each includethree core passageways 116. Lower intake manifold adapters 112 and 114also include fuel injectors 118 for delivering fuel to respectivevehicle engine cylinders (not shown in Figure). For example, lowerintake manifold adapters 112 and 114 can each include four fuelinjectors 118. In one embodiment, lower intake manifold adapters 112 and114 may each include three fuel injectors 118 for 6 cylinderapplications and 2 injectors for 4 cylinder applications. The size offuel injectors 118 may be selected to achieve an appropriate fuel flowrate to meet a particular vehicle engine application maximizing fueleconomy with reduced exhaust emissions and enhanced engine performance.

Fuel injectors 118 are coupled to fuel rail 120, which is coupled to avehicle fuel pump (not shown in FIG. 1) via a vehicle fuel regulator(not shown in FIG. 1). In one embodiment, where a return-type electronicfuel injection system is used to supply fuel to the vehicle engine, apneumatic vacuum/pressure controlled regulator may be coupled to fuelrail 120 to provide increased fuel rail pressure under boost, whichprovides more effective fuel atomization and, consequently, increasedfuel economy and reduced risk of engine detonation by allowing fuelenrichment that is required under boost conditions.

Modular supercharger system 100 further includes upper manifold plenumchamber 122 for receiving compressed air from supercharger 102 and forhousing internal heat exchanger 104, which cools the compressed air thatenters upper manifold plenum chamber 122. Upper manifold plenum chamberalso directs the cooled compressed air into intake valves (not shown inFIG. 1) of the vehicle engine via core passageways 116 in lower intakemanifold adapters 112 and 114. Upper manifold plenum chamber 122 can beattached to mounting plate 108 and may comprise machined aluminum. Inother embodiments, upper manifold plenum chamber 122 may comprise castaluminum, cast iron, steel, or composite materials. Upper manifoldplenum chamber 122 includes heat sink fins 124, which are formed in thetop surface of upper manifold plenum chamber 122. Heat sink fins 124 candissipate heat from compressed air received from supercharger 102 andcan also dissipate heat conducted through lower intake manifold adapters112 and 114. Heat sink fins 124 can dissipate heat through forced ramair that is ducted across heat sink fins 124 as a result of vehiclemovement.

Modular supercharger system 100 further includes a cooling system forreducing the temperature of compressed air that is discharged fromsupercharger 102. The cooling system can be a liquid-to-air coolingsystem. In one embodiment, the cooling system may be an air-to-aircooling system. The cooling system includes internal heat exchanger 104for cooling compressed air that is discharged from supercharger 102.Internal heat exchanger 104 can be attached to upper manifold plenumchamber 122 such that internal heat exchanger 104 is situated overopening 110 in mounting plate 108. Internal heat exchanger 104 andmounting plate 108 can form an appropriately tight seal such thatsubstantially all of the compressed air discharged from supercharger 102through opening 110 must pass through internal heat exchanger 104 beforeflowing though core passageways 116 in lower intake manifold adapters112 and 114. Also, since internal heat exchanger 104 is situateddirectly over supercharger 102 in upper manifold plenum chamber 122,internal heat exchanger 104 also acts as a muffler to reduce the levelof sound that is generated by supercharger 102.

Internal heat exchanger 104 may be a radiator-type cooling device orother appropriate type of cooling device and may be attached to uppermanifold plenum chamber 122 by using bolts, screws, or other type offastening devices. Internal heat exchanger 104 can include an array ofpassageways (not shown in FIG. 1) for circulation of fluid withininternal heat exchanger 104. Internal heat exchanger 104 may furtherinclude fins to assist in heat exchange between compressed air exitingsupercharger 102 and the fluid circulating in internal heat exchanger104. Internal heat exchanger 104 also includes input and output ports(not shown in FIG. 1) to allow fluid to enter and exit internal heatexchanger 104. In one embodiment, internal heat exchanger 104 may be anair-to-air heat exchanger that can utilize air circulating in internalheat exchanger 104 to transfer heat from compressed air exitingsupercharger 102.

By cooling the supercharged compressed air that is discharged fromsupercharger 102 before it (i.e. the compressed air) reaches thecylinder intake valves of the vehicle engine, a cooling system includinginternal heat exchanger 104 can advantageously increase the horsepowerof the vehicle engine and reduce risk of engine detonation. By way ofexample, depending on ambient temperature in the vehicle enginecompartment, internal heat exchanger 104 can cause a decrease intemperature of compressed air from supercharger 102 of betweenapproximately 30.0° F. (degrees Fahrenheit) and approximately 60.0° F.,which can advantageously result in an increase of between approximately20.0 horsepower and approximately 35.0 horsepower. By reducing thetemperature of compressed air discharged from supercharger 102, internalheat exchanger 104 can also advantageously cause an increase in vehiclefuel economy by providing the cylinder intake valves of the vehicleengine with cooler compressed air and reduce exhaust emissions and therisk of engine detonation.

The cooling system of modular supercharger system 100 furthers includepump 126 for pumping fluid through the cooling system. In an embodimentusing an air-to-air cooling system, pump 126 may pump air through thecooling system. Pump 126 is coupled to internal heat exchanger 104 byconduit 130 and can be a 12.0 vdc coolant pump, such as a centrifugal,diaphragm, or rotary vane 12.0 vdc coolant pump. Pump 126 may becontrolled by a microprocessor chip (not shown in FIG. 1). The coolingsystem of modular supercharger system 100 further includes external heatexchanger 128 for transferring heat from fluid that flows through thecooling system. External heat exchanger 128 is coupled to pump 126 byconduit 132 and coupled to internal heat exchanger 104 by conduit 134.External heat exchanger 128 may be a radiator-type cooling device orother appropriate type of cooling device.

External heat exchanger 128 can be mounted underneath or in front of thevehicle radiator (not shown in FIG. 1) to allow forced air to pressesagainst external heat exchanger 128 during vehicle forward motion. Theforced air that pushes against external heat exchanger 128 can dissipateheat from compressed air exiting supercharger 102, which has beentransferred to fluid in the cooling system by internal heat exchanger104. In other embodiments, external heat exchanger 128 may be mounted indifferent locations in the forward portion of the vehicle. Similar tointernal heat exchanger 104, external heat exchanger 128 can alsoinclude an array of passageways and fins for dissipating heat in fluidflowing through external heat exchanger 128. In one embodiment, externalheat exchanger 128 may be an air-to-air heat exchanger that dissipatesheat in air circulating through external heat exchanger 128 through airthat is forced against external heat exchanger 128 during forward motionof the vehicle. In other embodiments, the cooling system of modularsupercharger system 100 may include one or more cooling systemcomponents, such as internal heat exchanger 104, pump 126, and externalheat exchanger 128.

Modular supercharger system 100 further includes one or more air ducts(not shown in FIG. 1), which are coupled to supercharger 102 to providea source of filtered air for supercharger 102. The one or more air ductsmay be coupled between an air input (not shown in FIG. 1) ofsupercharger 102 and one or more existing air ducts (not shown inFIG. 1) in the vehicle engine compartment. Modular supercharger system100 further includes drive belt 136 for coupling supercharger pulley 138on supercharger 102 to engine crankshaft pulley 140 to drivesupercharger 102. Modular supercharger system 100 further includes idlerpulley 142 to allow proper drive belt tension and to provide sufficientbelt wrap around supercharger pulley 138 to prevent drive belt slippage.In one embodiment, modular supercharger system 100 may couplesupercharger pulley 138 to an existing vehicle engine drive belt todrive supercharger 102.

FIG. 2A shows a perspective view of a lower intake manifold adapter 250in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Lower intakemanifold adapter 250 corresponds to lower intake manifold adapter 114 inFIG. 1 and also corresponds to a mirror image of lower intake manifoldadapter 112. Lower intake manifold adapter 250 includes core passageways252, which correspond to core passageways 116 in lower intake manifoldadapter 112 in FIG. 1. Lower intake manifold adapter 250 has bottomsurface 254, which is attached to a cylinder head (not shown in FIG. 2A)of a vehicle engine after the intake manifold of the vehicle engine hasbeen removed. Lower intake manifold adapter 250 may be attached to thecylinder head of the vehicle engine by bolts, for example.

Lower intake manifold adapter 250 is situated on the cylinder head ofthe vehicle engine such that front portion 256 of lower intake manifoldadapter 250 is facing toward the front of the vehicle engine. A mountingplate, such as mounting plate 108 in FIG. 1, is attached to top surface258 of lower intake manifold adapter 250. Core passageways 252 providechannels for compressed air from a supercharger, such as supercharger102 in FIG. 1, to reach respective cylinder intake valves situated undereach core passageway. Core passageways 252 will be described in greaterdetail in relation to FIG. 2B, and specifically with respect to a topview of the region enclosed by dashed line 260 (which corresponds to theregion enclosed by dashed line 262 in FIG. 2B).

FIG. 2B shows a top view of region 260 of a lower intake manifoldadapter 250 in FIG. 2A in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. Region 262 in FIG. 2B, which shows a top view of region 260in FIG. 2A, includes core passageway 264, which corresponds topassageways 252 in FIG. 2A. Core passageway 264 includes top opening266, which is situated at top surface 258 of lower intake manifoldadapter 250 in FIG. 2A, and bottom opening 268, which is situated atbottom surface 254 of lower intake manifold adapter 250. Top opening 266is larger than bottom opening 268 such that compressed air flowingthrough core passageway 264 has increased pressured at bottom opening268. In other embodiments, bottom opening 268 may be equal to or greaterthan top opening 266. Core passageway 264 also has rounded corners toreduce friction between the sidewalls of core passageway 264 andcompressed air that flows through core passageway 264.

FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of an upper manifold plenum chamber 350in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Uppermanifold plenum chamber 350 corresponds to upper manifold plenum chamber122 in FIG. 1. Upper manifold plenum chamber 350 includes interiorregion 352 for housing an internal heat exchanger, such as internal heatexchanger 104, and for receiving compressed air from a supercharger,such as supercharger 102. Upper manifold plenum chamber 350 alsoincludes top surface 354 for mounting internal heat exchanger 104. Uppermanifold plenum chamber 350 further includes top surface 356 forattaching a mounting plate, such as mounting plate 108 in FIG. 1.

Upper manifold plenum chamber 350 further includes rounded insidecorners, such as rounded inside corners 358 and 360, for reducingfriction between the sidewall surfaces of upper manifold plenum chamber350 and compressed air that flows into upper manifold plenum chamber 350from supercharger 102. Upper manifold plenum chamber 350 furtherincludes openings 360 and 362 for coupling internal heat exchanger 104to pump 126 and external heat exchanger 128 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a mounting plate 450 in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention. Mounting plate 450corresponds to mounting plate 108 in FIG. 1 and includes opening 452,which corresponds to opening 110 in FIG. 1. Mounting plate 450 issituated between lower intake manifold adapters, such as lower intakemanifold adapters 112 and 114, and an upper manifold plenum chamber,such as upper manifold plenum chamber 122 in FIG. 1. Mounting plate 450includes openings 454, which can align with core passageways 116 inlower intake manifold adapter 112 in FIG. 1 and openings 456, which canalign with core passageways 252 in lower intake manifold adapter 250 inFIG. 2A (which corresponds to lower intake manifold adapter 114 in FIG.1).

Openings 454 and 456 in mounting plate 450 allow compressed air, whichhas been cooled by internal heat exchanger 104 in FIG. 1, to flow fromupper manifold plenum chamber 122 in FIG. 1 into respective corepassageways in lower intake manifold adapters 112 and 114. Mountingplate 450 further includes holes 458 for attaching supercharger 102 tothe bottom surface of mounting plate 450 such that compressed airexiting supercharger 102 flows through opening 452.

FIG. 5 shows a bottom view of an upper manifold plenum chamber 550including an internal heat exchanger 552 in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. Upper manifold plenum chamber 550corresponds to upper manifold plenum chamber 122 in FIG. 1 and uppermanifold plenum chamber 350 in FIG. 3, and internal heat exchanger 552corresponds to internal heat exchanger 104 in FIG. 1. Internal heatexchanger 552 includes input port 554 for allowing fluid to enterinternal heat exchanger 552 and output port 556 for allowing fluid toexit internal heat exchanger 552. Internal heat exchanger 552 alsoincludes passageways 558 for allowing fluid to circulate throughinternal heat exchanger 552.

Upper manifold plenum chamber 550 includes interior region 560 forhousing an air flow distribution manifold (not shown in FIG. 5), whichwill be discussed in relation to FIG. 6. Upper manifold plenum chamber550 also includes opening 562 for connecting the air flow distributionmanifold to an EGR (exhaust gas recirculation) port on a vehicle engine.

FIG. 6 shows an air flow distribution manifold 650 coupled to aregulator 656 in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. Air flow distribution manifold 650 can be situated adjacentto an internal heat exchanger, such as internal heat exchanger 552 inFIG. 5, in an interior region of an upper manifold plenum chamber, suchas interior region 560 of upper manifold plenum chamber 550. Air flowdistribution manifold 650 can be a stainless steel tube and may have aninner diameter of between approximately 0.375 inch and approximately1.25 inches. Air flow distribution manifold 650 includes end 652 forconnecting to regulator 656. Regulator 656 can be connected to an EGRport on a vehicle engine (not shown in FIG. 6) to allow precise flowadjustments of exhaust gasses to optimize the efficiency and operationof the flow control and manifold operation. Regulator 656 can be anadjustable regulator, such as a needle/orifice type control having atapered needle for air flow control, which is capable of withstandingtemperatures in excess of 450.0° F. In one embodiment, a fixed orifice,which may be threaded or brazed/welded into end 652 of air flowdistribution manifold 650, may be used in place of regulator 656. Thefixed orifice can have a predetermined opening size to allow a desiredflow rate.

Air flow distribution manifold 650 also includes exit air openings 654,which can be adjusted to achieve a balanced air flow within the uppermanifold plenum chamber, such as upper manifold plenum chamber 122 ofmodular supercharger system 100 in FIG. 1. By achieving a balanced airflow with the upper manifold plenum chamber, air flow distributionmanifold 650 can eliminate hot spots that can cause false diagnosticcodes related to vehicle engine cylinder misfire and can increase theefficiency of the air charge to the vehicle engine cylinders. In otherembodiments, additional exit air openings may be positioned along theperimeter of air flow distribution manifold 650 to further adjust airflow distribution.

FIG. 7 shows a diagram of modular supercharger system 700 according toone embodiment of the present invention. In modular supercharger system700 in FIG. 7, supercharger 702, internal heat exchanger 704, lowerintake manifold adapters 712 and 714, pump 726, external heat exchanger728, conduits 730, 732, and 734, drive belt 736, supercharger pulley738, engine crankshaft pulley 740, and idler pulley 742 correspond,respectfully, to supercharger 102, internal heat exchanger 104, lowerintake manifold adapters 112 and 114, pump 126, external heat exchanger128, conduits 130, 132, and 134, drive belt 136, supercharger pulley138, engine crankshaft pulley 140, and idler pulley 142 in modularsupercharger system 100 in FIG. 1.

Similar to modular supercharger system 100 in FIG. 1, modularsupercharger system 700 uses a modular design including a supercharger(i.e. supercharger 702) and an effective cooling system to increaseperformance, reduce emissions, and decrease fuel consumption of avehicle engine (not shown in FIG. 7). Supercharger system 700 alsoutilizes a portion of the cooling system (i.e. internal heat exchanger704) to reduce audible noise that is generated by the supercharger.However, in modular supercharger system 100 in FIG. 1, supercharger 102is mounted in an updraft configuration, where compressed air isdischarged from supercharger 102 in an upward direction (i.e. in adirection away from the vehicle engine). In contrast, in modularsupercharger system 700, supercharger 702 is mounted in a downdraftconfiguration, where compressed air is discharged from supercharger 702in a downward direction (i.e. toward the vehicle engine).

In modular supercharger system 700, supercharger 702 is mounted on uppermanifold plenum chamber 746. In order to accommodate supercharger 702,upper manifold plenum chamber 746 has a opening, such as opening 110 inmounting plate 108 in FIG. 1, situated in the top surface of uppermanifold plenum chamber 746 to receive compressed air from supercharger702. Except for the opening in the top surface of upper manifold plenumchamber 746, upper manifold plenum chamber 746 is generally similar toupper manifold plenum chamber 122 in modular supercharger system 100 inFIG. 1. In modular supercharger system 700, upper manifold plenumchamber 746 is attached to mounting plate 744, which is generallysimilar to mounting plate 108 in modular supercharger system 100.However, since supercharger 102 is mounted to the bottom surface ofmounting plate 108, mounting plate 108 requires opening 110 to allowcompressed air form supercharger 102 to enter upper manifold plenumchamber 122. In contrast, since supercharger 702 is not attached tomounting plate 744, mounting plate 744 does not require an opening, suchas opening 110 in mounting plate 108.

A novel system for supercharging a vehicle engine has been herebypresented. The present invention may be embodied in other specific formswithout departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. Thedescribed embodiments are to be considered in all respects only asillustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art willrecognize that changes and modifications may be made to the embodimentswithout departing from the scope of the present invention. These andother changes or modifications are intended to be included within thescope of present invention, as broadly described herein.

1. A supercharging method for use with a vehicle engine, saidsupercharging method comprising: attaching a first lower intake manifoldadapter to said vehicle engine, wherein said first lower intake manifoldadapter has a plurality of passageways; attaching a second lower intakemanifold adapter to said vehicle engine; and providing a plate situatedbetween said first and said second lower intake manifold adapter;receiving a supercharger on a bottom surface of said plate; providingcompressed air using said supercharger, wherein the compressed air flowsthrough said first lower intake manifold adapter and said second lowerintake manifold adapter to said vehicle engine, and wherein each of saidplurality of passageways has a first opening at a top surface of saidfirst lower intake manifold adapter and a second opening at a bottomsurface of said first lower intake manifold adapter, wherein said firstopening is larger than said second opening.
 2. The supercharging methodof claim 1 further comprising: providing an upper manifold plenumchamber situated over said plate, wherein said upper manifold plenumchamber is configured to receive said compressed air from saidsupercharger.
 3. The supercharging method of claim 2, wherein said platehas an opening to allow said compressed air to flow from saidsupercharger into said upper manifold plenum chamber.
 4. Thesupercharging method of claim 2, wherein said plurality of passagewaysare for receiving said compressed air form said upper manifold plenumchamber.
 5. The supercharging method of claim 1 further comprising:attaching said first lower intake manifold adapter to a first cylinderhead of said vehicle engine; and attaching said second lower intakemanifold adapter to a second cylinder head of said vehicle engine.
 6. Asupercharger system comprising: a first lower intake manifold adapterhaving a first plurality of passageways; a second lower intake manifoldadapter having a second plurality of passageways; a plate situatedbetween said first lower intake manifold adapter and said second lowerintake manifold adapter; and a supercharger attached to a bottom surfaceof said plate; wherein compressed air from said supercharger flowsthrough said first plurality of passageways in said first lower intakemanifold adapter and said second plurality of passageways in said secondlower intake manifold adapter, and wherein each of said first pluralityof passageways has a first opening at a top surface of said first lowerintake manifold adapter and a second opening at a bottom surface of saidfirst lower intake manifold adapter, wherein said first opening islarger than said second opening.
 7. The supercharger system of claim 6further comprising an upper manifold plenum chamber situated over saidplate, wherein said upper manifold plenum chamber receives saidcompressed air from said supercharger.
 8. The supercharger system ofclaim 7, wherein said plate comprises an opening for allowing saidcompressed air to flow between said supercharger and said upper manifoldplenum chamber.
 9. The supercharger system of claim 6, wherein saidplate comprises a plurality of openings, and wherein each of saidplurality of openings aligns with one of said first plurality ofpassageways in said first lower intake manifold adapter.
 10. Thesupercharger system of claim 6, wherein each of said first plurality ofpassageways has rounded corners to reduce friction between saidcompressed air and said each of said first plurality of passageways. 11.A supercharger system for supercharging a vehicle engine, saidsupercharger system comprising: a first lower intake manifold adapterfor attaching to said vehicle engine, wherein said first lower intakemanifold adapter has a plurality of passageways; a second lower intakemanifold adapter for attaching to said vehicle engine; and a platesituated between said first lower intake manifold adapter and saidsecond lower intake manifold adapter, said plate adapted to receive asupercharger on a bottom surface of said plate; wherein saidsupercharger is configured to provide compressed air that flows throughsaid first lower intake manifold adapter and said second lower intakemanifold adapter to said vehicle engine, and wherein each of saidplurality of passageways has a first opening at a top surface of saidfirst lower intake manifold adapter and a second opening at a bottomsurface of said first lower intake manifold adapter, wherein said firstopening is larger than said second opening.
 12. The supercharger systemof claim 11 further comprising an upper manifold plenum chamber situatedover said plate, wherein said upper manifold plenum chamber isconfigured to receive said compressed air from said supercharger. 13.The supercharger system of claim 12, wherein said plate has an openingto allow said compressed air to flow from said supercharger into saidupper manifold plenum chamber.
 14. The supercharger system of claim 12,wherein said plurality of passageways are for receiving said compressedair from said upper manifold plenum chamber.
 15. The supercharger systemof claim 11, wherein said first lower intake manifold adapter can beattached to a first cylinder head of said vehicle engine and said secondlower intake manifold adapter can be attached to a second cylinder headof said vehicle engine.